


[All my life] I've been searching for something

by mistyegg



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Meetings, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, only teen and up bc of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27977766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistyegg/pseuds/mistyegg
Summary: In a world where soulmates exist, Alain thinks he’s not worthy to be Ash Ketchum’s, who he’d seen on the news for his list of accomplishments for years now. He doesn’t expect, however, to meet a bright starry-eyed trainer who looks up at Alain like he’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.
Relationships: Alan | Alain/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 8
Kudos: 111





	[All my life] I've been searching for something

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sketchiimutt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sketchiimutt/gifts).



> SHOUTOUT TO SERENA i brought up the idea of a soulmate au and she went above and beyond with ideas. making alain starry-eyed with semi famous ash was her idea and i'm all aboard it :DD
> 
> title from all my life by foo fighters

The first time Alain sees Ash, he’s fourteen years old and is sitting on the laboratory floor while carefully moisturising Gabite’s rough skin. Neither of them jump when Augustine suddenly slams open the door, but they’re startled when the man falls to the floor next to them, “Professor-”  
  
“Hush, Alain. Watch this!”  
  
He’s thrusting the screen in front of them, practically covering up all of Alain sight, but he’s snatching the tablet as soon as he registers what’s on his screen. It’s a news outlet from what looks like Kanto, in a language he doesn’t recognise; though Kalosian translations are racing across the bottom of the screen, so it’s most likely not a new headline.

 _'THIRTEEN YEAR OLD ASH KETCHUM FROM PALLET TOWN SUCCESSFULLY DEFEATS FRONTIER BRAIN BRANDON!’_ _  
_ _  
_ “Oh my god-”  
  
“That’s what I said!” Augustine cries out, clearly excited. “This has to be him, Alain!”  
  
_“Brandon, is there anything more you’d like to say?”_  
  
Their attentions are taken away from each other and back to the screen, where the Kantonese man speaks something in a foriegn tongue with a forlorn smile on his face. The translation quickly reads at the bottom of the screen.  
  
_“Satoshi [Ash] is an exceptional trainer, and I look forward to hearing of him in the future. My only regret is that he refused to become a frontier brain, but the offer is always open to him, if he changes his mind.”_ _  
_ _  
_ “Who the fuck declines a offer like that?!”  
  
“Alain, language!”

He hands the tablet back when something else comes on, no longer talking about his soulmate, and he deflates. “Is there… anymore on him?”  
  
“Well…” Augustine swipes a few times, before showing a recent article; having obviously searched up the trainer, which embarrasses Alain slightly. “According to this, he ranked Top 16 in the Indigo Plateau and Top 8 in the Silver Conference and Ever Grande Conference… he’s quite the accomplished trainer, isn’t he?”  
  
The raven haired teen skims the article for a minute, before pausing. “It says here he’s in the Orange Archipelago hall of fame… I’ve never heard of it?”  
  
“Oh, right! I actually had to dig into this, but apparently the Orange Islands is located south of Kanto and Johto, and he competed and defeated all of the Orange Crew, quite impressive considering the current head of the crew had been undefeated before him. It’s quite a rare league, and has only recently been added to the official listing of Pokemon Championships- Oh my, Alain, are you _blushing?”_ _  
_ _  
_ “No!” Alain drops the device into his lap and groans, covering his face. “It’s just…”  
  
Augustine smiles, “It’s quite alright, dear. Your soulmate is quite the talented man; I’m sure you’re very excited to see him, non?”  
  
He couldn’t have worded it better.  
  
-

“How could they let that guy in there?” Sophie and Augustine grumble, the latter reaching behind the couch to scratch under Garchomp’s chin affectionately. “Isn’t there some rule against having Legendary and Mythical Pokemon? He had a _Darkrai!”_ _  
_ _  
_ “Who had a Darkrai?”  
  
“Alain!” Augustine sits up suddenly, making room on the couch and turning the television volume up. “They’re playing a section about the Sinnoh Leagues Lily of The Valley conference - their champion lead with a Darkrai.”  
  
“...No way.”

“Just look!”

Alain is dragged onto the couch between them, as Augustine and Sophie practically sandwich the teen in between them. He’s forced to watch quite an intimidating trainer stand at the top of a podium, holding a Championship Trophy with a Darkrai standing by his side. 

“Didn’t he have another Pokemon?” Sophie asks. “I thought someone was telling me about that…”  
  
“Hold on,” Professor Augustine fiddles with the tablet for a few moments, bringing up a video. “This says the trainer who made the top 4 managed to knock out his Darkrai and tie with… his Latios?”

“How on Earth can he have a Darkrai _and_ Latios?”  
  
“Beats me. Here, let’s watch. That trainer must be something special, right?” Augustine comments, but he has a giddy smile on his face.

Alain glares; he knows that look. “You’re hiding something. What do you know?”  
  
Augustine presses play, “Well, why don’t you take a look?”  
  
It’s a few weeks before Alain’s fifteenth birthday when he sees Ash again; standing at the Sinnoh League, determination brimming in his eyes as he stands off Tobias’ undefeatable Darkrai.

“No way.”  
  
“Oh hoh, I think so,” Augustine chuckles, “I think it’s only a matter of time until he comes to Kalos, dear… we’ll make sure to give him a wonderful welcome, of course, non?”  
  
“Augustine…”  
  
“Aw, am I embarrassing you again?” Augustine asks, but stands up. “Why don’t you watch the rest of Ash’s battling for the league today, hm? Sophie and I can take care of everything from here… besides, I’m sure you and Charmander could learn a lot from him.”  
  
As if on cue, Alain’s faithful friend bounds into the room in a fit of fiery energy, easily jumping onto the couch and securing her spot right where the Professor was sitting, no doubt warm. “Mander!! Char Charmander!”  
  
Alain smiles and puts her on his knee, “Alright girl, watch closely. This guy is a really strong trainer… and someday, we’re going to meet him.

“Char!”

-

“-I got him from Professor Sycamore!”  
  
Alain feigns disinterest, but both him and Charizard perk up at the name, not stopping as Mairin’s mouth runs a mile a minute. His interest is further piqued when he learns that Garchomp had recently gone on some sort of rampage through the city, “What? Garchomp did?”  
  
“You haven’t heard? It was a really big deal… Well! All of a sudden this trainer named Ash _saved_ Garchomp!”

“Huh…

“And when his Pokemon fell from Prism Tower, he saved it!”

He blinks, “...Really now?”  
  
“Yeah! It takes a lot of trust between a trainer and a Pokemon to be willing to do that…”

Alain turns to his Charizard, reaching out to scratch under his chin with a slight frown, not able to get the horrifying image of his soulmate jumping from Prism Tower to save a Pokemon....  
  
Though, it does sound like something Ash would do, and the thought makes him smile to himself.

-

Whatever Ash and his Greninja are doing, changing form behind a protective water tornado…. It’s not Mega Evolution, and Alain has a feeling it’s something _beyond._

“Greninja, use Aerial Ace!”

Suddenly, the water frog is racing across the battlefield with speed immeasurable from before, darting around like it’s almost cautious of Sceptile’s moves; though there’s no need for it. He strikes the Forest Pokemon back with the super effective attack, who flies from the sheer force of the attack and destroys the brick wall behind the green haired trainer.

“Sceptile!”

“...Sceptile is unable to battle, and Greninja wins, so the match goes to Ash!

Alain watches with interest as the water dissipates from around Greninja, and in sync, both him and his trainer collapse on the ground, though Ash hadn’t been hit or thrown off balance the entire battle. He looks exhausted; Alain can tell from a distance, seeing his usually composed soulmate covered in sweat, though happy he won the battle.  
  
“Ash, you have to fill me in! How did you do whatever you did?”  
  
“I don’t really know what I did, Sawyer… stuff just flashes in front my eyes when I get like that.”  
  
“Oh, I see…. Ugh! No I don’t!”

Ash laughs almost nervously in response, taking a look up to his left. His face melts into surprise when he sees Alain watching in equal surprise, and he can feel himself go red in the face because _his soulmate just noticed him for the first time, oh fuck._ Ash furrows his eyebrows in almost recognition, but before the trainer can call or out acknowledge Alain, he’s already turning heel and leaving, dodging around to get into the Pokemon center like he originally intended to.

He groans to himself; he’s a coward.

Alain’s mind is completely taken up with the thought of Ash; so much so that he nearly misses the regular call from Lysandre, letting it ring almost to voicemail before he registers the ringtone and picks up. He doesn’t mention Ash and Greninja’s interesting bond to Lysandre, having a queasy feeling in his stomach at the thought of doing so; it doesn’t matter anyway, since his Mega stone didn’t react to whatever was happening.

He watches Ash’s friend Sawyer off too, the green haired man giving Alain a weird look over Ash’s shoulder, but doesn’t say anything as he runs off. 

He dips into the Pokemon center before any of the quartet can see him, moaning to himself in anger and wondering why he can’t just muster up the courage to finally meet his damn soulmate. He gets Charizard’s Pokeball and practically races up to his room, immediately releasing her and throwing himself on the bed with a disgruntled groan

She chips in confusion, and Alain turns his head so she can hear him properly. “I’m a loser.”

“Charr,” She moans and sits on the floor, resting her long neck across the bed so she can nudge his legs with her snout. She looks upset, obviously not agreeing with the trainer, but he sighs.  
  
“I saw him,” He whispered. “Ash Ketchum. And he _saw_ me. And I ran away because I’m- Xerneas, I’m scared, I guess.”  
  
“Zar?”  
  
“I don’t know… he’s just such an accomplished and power trainer, Charizard, and I’m kinda just… what? A Mega Evolution enthusiast? I’ve hurt people and he’s stuck with me as his soulmate... I know it’s not fair to him but I can’t help it.”  
  
She pouts, breaths out a small ball of smoke and nudges him more harshly, as if telling him off. He rolls away and sits up with a huff, “Yeah yeah…”

Going downstairs to eat and feed his Pokemon proves to be uneventful, though as he crawls into bed that night with his friend’s head on the foot of the bed, he can’t help but wonder… if Ash would really want to meet him. Almost as if sensing the negative thoughts, Charizard growls and gently bites at his toes, causing him to thrash.  
  
“Okay okay! I’m going to sleep, cut it out already.”  
  
She huffs in satisfaction, and the Pokemon Center falls silent.

He’s woken up by the breaking of glass and what sounds like screams. 

Charizard has already beaten him up, standing from the ground and spreading her wings as far as they’ll go into the small room, threatening whatever’s outside with a hiss. He races out onto the balcony and witnesses a Meowth-shaped air balloon flying away, and turns his head sharply when he hears a familiar yell. He watches in shock as Ash, dressed in only his pajamas, vaults himself over the balcony railing and fireman slides down the lamppost, chasing after Pikachu vehemently. When those thieves make it apparent they’re not afraid to attack defenseless trainers, Alain decides that enough is enough. 

“Charizard, let’s go help them.”

“Zar?”

He meets her turquoise eyes and smiles, knowing she’s still wondering if he’s still hesitant of his soulmate, and races into the hotel room without a word. He’s able to throw on his pants and jacket before he’s taking off on her back, directing an intercepting attack and quickly jumping off of Charizard to avoid getting hurt himself

“A… A Charizard?”  
  
Alain tenses up when their eyes meet, Ash’s wide in shock as his friends race over to his side and help him stand; he’s covered in scrapes and bleeding at one of his knees, but his attention is fully directed at Alain, who softly clears his throat.  
  
“Charizard, use Dragon Claw!”  
  
His faithful partner flies off and breaks Pikachu containment with ease, but he watches in awe as the electric rodent is able to turn around and fire off a Thunderbolt in midair by Ash’s command, destroying the balloon. He’s knocked out of his daze when he sees the Pokemon barrelling to the concrete ground at top speed, “Charizard, catch Ash’s Pikachu, quick!”  
  
She maneuvers around and dives down, successfully catching the Kanto Pokemon as he bounces on her back from the impact. As she lands, Pikachu races over to Ash and Alain praises Charizard for a job well down; she coos in delight.

Bare feet are heard on the path, before Ash’s friends are standing by his side and looking over the pair worriedly. “Are you both alright?”  
  
“Yeah, we’re fine! Thanks to you,” Ash looks at Alain, smiling before he seems to register exactly where he’s seen Alain from. “Hey wait, you’re-”  
  
“Do you two know each other?” 

“Yeah, he called you by your name!” The youngest points out, pointing at Alain with a confused frown on her face.

“Ah, no. I’m-”  
  
“Alain.”  
  
Said man tenses up, and Ash’s mouth drops, “I’m right, aren’t I? It’s you.”  
  
Alain stutters slightly, but when Charizard knocks him on the back of his head with her wing, he hisses at her, “Calm down… I won’t run this time.” He looks back at Ash, seeing his gorgeous brown eyes filled with hope.

“Y-Yeah, it’s me.”  
  
Said eyes go wide and it almost looks like he has stars in them, before he races forward clumsily and stands in front of Alain, “Please, show me, I- here.”  
  
Ash holds out his wrist, where Alain’s neat handwriting is tattooed across Ash’s wrist, and Alain can’t help the giddy smile that stretches across his mouth at the sight. He removes his mega ring and reaches out, where Ash impatiently grabs his wrist and brings it closer so he can read his clumsy handwriting, showcasing their bond.

He looks up at Alain with tears in his eyes, “I’ve waited years to meet you. I’ve travelled to every region I can looking for you… but I knew. I knew the moment I landed in Lumiose City that you were here, somewhere, waiting for me.”

Alain sighs shakily, “I- The first time I saw you was when you bet the Pyramid King, on TV… I was like, fourteen or something.”  
  
“No way…”  
  
“I’ve been watching you for years now, Ash… I was hoping someday I’d see you come to Kalos and make your name known here, but… well. I haven’t exactly done anything as tremendous as you have.”  
  
“No way!” Ash yells, stepping back and looking at his partner. “Your Charizard… it can Mega Evolve, right? That seems pretty ‘tremendous’ to me.”  
  
Alain grins, having seen that excitement a million times before… but it looks different on Ash. Better, even. “You wanna see?”  
  
“Wait, really?”  
  
“Sure. I’d love to battle that Greninja of yours.”  
  
Ash instinctively reaches for where his Pokeballs would be, forgetting that he’s standing in only his boxers and a thin shirt. “Right, you saw us yesterday, right? Is that why you didn’t…”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Ash frowns, which shouldn’t look as cute as it does; Alain feels his face go red at the thought. The younger doesn’t notice though, eyes firing up at the thought of a battle and pumping his fist in agreement. 

After their battle resulting in Greninja’s defeat, the two trainers sit outside at the benches overlooking the battle field, completely alone. Ash sags, clearly still exhausted from the battle, and Alain hums, “Are you alright?”  
  
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Ash smiles, striking something firm in Alain’s heart. “I always get tired when Greninja and I fight like that… I don’t know what it is, really, but it almost feels like I’m battling alongside Greninja. I can feel every move he takes and whenever he moves… that’s probably weird to hear.”  
  
“Not weird, just new,” Alain reassures. “It looks like Mega Evolution, but my stone doesn’t react, so I’m not sure what it is.”  
  
“Well, whatever it is, Greninja is pretty cool,” Ash remarks, and quickly changes the conversation. “You… You’re on a journey?”  
  
“I am.”  
  
“So… you won’t come with us, will you?”  
  
Alain sighs. “...I want to. Believe me, I want to learn everything I can about you, Ash. But right now I have a lot of things on my mind-”  
  
“Hey, you don’t need to tell me,” Ash reaches out with ease and takes Alain’s hand into his lap, holding it between both of his own and squeezing. “I’m heading to Snowbelle city, to get my eighth badge, so I’m going to be focusing on my training anyway…”  
  
“You’re competing in the league, then?”

“Of course I am! You’ll come and watch me win then, right?” Ash asks, leaning over so he’s having to look up from Alain’s lap, clearly excited from the thought.  
  
Alain grins, “You sure are confident.”  
  
He grins right back, a cocky twitch in his lips that melts Alain’s heart. “I can _feel_ it. This year is going to be different, I know it.”  
  
Alain’s smile softens as he stares down at Ash and his brown, beautiful eyes, filled with determination and fire that he’s seen every time the younger teen has battled. He wants to be the one that sparks those flames; he wants to see Ash in battle beside his trust companions, and he wants to be the one to face him and watch him soar.

He wants to battle Ash again.

“I’m sure it will be, Ash.”  
  
  


_[Deleted scene: Kalos e001]_  
  


Standing alone in the airport and waiting for Alexa to finish on the phone, Ash looks around at the milling people and Pokemon. He sighs, but smiles when a paw smooshes against his cheek. “Pika?” 

“I’m okay buddy,” He confirms, scratching behind the electric mouse’s ears just to hear his Pokemon cry in delight. “Kalos just… it feels different, you know? I think… I have a good feeling about this place.” 

“Chu…” 

The rat gestures down to his wrist, and when Ash lifts it to his Pokemon reach, Pikachu pulls the glove of his left hand off and rubs the name written there. 

_Alain Sycamore._

Ash laughs, “You understand better than anyone, buddy… yeah, we’ll meet Alain this time, I’m sure of it.”

**Author's Note:**

> was gonna do a whole scene of alain freaking out at the cameo he had in the anime before the sawyer battle where him and ash crossed paths but i couldn't make it work :((( but just know alain was freaking out hehehehe
> 
> ps whenever i finish that aura au that will also be gifted to you serena. i'd say look out for it but uhhh i think we both know i'll spam you LMAO <3


End file.
